Premature babies
- Keyword(s)
- Premature births
- Low birth weight babies
- Insufficient birth weight
- Premature birth
Most of the pre-term babies will grow up without any health or overall developmental consequences.
However, premature infants are at a greater risk of suffering from neurodevelopmental troubles or disorders in relation to full term babies. This risk increases depending on the extent of prematurity.
The following section outlines the problems that can be encountered in the long term in connection with the development of a premature infant.
There may be repercussions on the well-being and day-to-day life of a child who displays developmental difficulties or disorders. It is therefore important for premature babies to benefit from careful and rigorous developmental monitoring so as to ensure healthy growth. Otherwise, the child must be referred to a health professional (e.g.: pediatrician, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, speech and language therapist) to be assessed and to begin, where necessary, an intervention plan intended to optimize the child’s healthy development.
References
Reference material
Johnson, YR. Long-term neurodevelopmental outcome of premature infants. In: UpToDate, Martin, R (Ed), UpToDate, Waltham, MA. (Accessed on November 24, 2014).
Scientific review: Dr. Annie Veilleux, Dr. Francine Lefebvre, Dr. Thuy Mai Luu and Dr. Véronique Dorval, pediatricians at CHU Sainte-Justine, Neonatal Follow-Up Clinic.
Drafting: Kathy Malas, Speech and Language Therapist and Administrator at CHU Sainte-Justine.
Updated: December 2014